Undergraduate & honours qualifications

Advanced Certificate in Accounting Sciences

Qualification code: 90017
NQF level: 6
Total credits: 120
SAQA ID: 94703
APS/AS: 50
Rules:
Candidates without an admission qualification in Accounting Sciences and thus without the Financial Accounting module FAC1502 or a similar first year Financial Accounting module, must register for FAC1502 for non-degree purposes concurrently with the other modules. Candidates who wish to select AUE1601 are recommended to enrol for the module CLA1503 for non-degree purposes. Candidates with a Diploma or a Bachelor's degree who wish to proceed to the Advanced Diploma in Accounting Sciences should select the electives in line with the requirements for the stream within the Advanced Diploma they intend to register for. Candidates who wish to proceed to Bachelor's degree studies should select the electives in line with the requirements for the Bachelor's degree they intend to register for. Students who have already passed MNB1601 before 2023 will retain credit for this module. Students who have not registered or passed MNB1601 and wish to proceed to the Advanced Diploma in Accounting Sciences should select as part of the electives IOP1501 from the 2023 academic year onwards. Students should note that during the course of their studies they would be required to have access to a computer with a webcam, and the internet. This qualification will be presented online. Some of the pre-requisites outlined in this qualification do not apply as they do not form part of the curriculum.
Purpose statement:
The intended purpose of this qualification is to enable qualifying learners to: Perform duties in the field of Accounting Sciences, for instance, general bookkeeping, costing, auditing (including internal auditing) and tax calculations. Understand basic management and business concepts. Perform accounting calculations. Use a computer for basic business purposes. Articulate to Diploma or under certain conditions to Degree studies.
This qualification will be presented using both online and distance learning modes.

Who can register?

  • Applicants (new applicants & Unisa students who applied for admission to a new qualification) may only register if they have received an offer of placement from Unisa and have accepted the offer online. Unisa reserves the right to not process and / or to cancel your registration if it is found that you were incorrectly admitted to a qualification. 
  • Re-registering students may register for the 2024 academic year once the registration period opens.

Please note: Should you wish to start a new qualification, please apply online for the alternative qualification during the prescribed application period.


How to choose your modules

Each Unisa qualification is structured in such a way that you need to pass a certain number of NQF level credits within a certain amount of time in order to graduate.

  • Co-requisite: Module A is a co-requisite for Module B. You want to register for Module B, but have not yet passed Module A. You must then register for both Modules A and B simultaneously. You may NOT cancel your registration for Module A unless Module B is also cancelled.

  • Pre-requisite: If Module A is a pre-requisite for Module B, you must pass Module A before you may register for Module B.

You may not register for more than the allowed maximum number of credits / modules per academic year and / or semester: 60 credits per semester or 120 credits per academic year.

The maximum number of credits do not include supplementary and / or aegrotat examinations from a previous semester. Modules taken for non-degree / non-diploma purposes also count towards the maximum number of credits allowed.

You must take your available time into consideration when choosing your modules, as this will impact your academic performance. You need approximately

  • 6 to 8 hours per week for semester modules.
  • 4 to 6 hours per week for year modules.

Click here for more information on managing your studies.

Curriculum for this qualification

While you are deciding on the modules for which you will be registering, write down the module names and codes so that you have something to refer to when completing your registration.

Please click on the modules below to see further information (eg semester/year module, NQF level)

First level

Module (Please click on the module to see further information) Pre-requisite/Co-requisite/Recommendation
Group A. Compulsory
FAC1601 - Financial Accounting and Reporting Pre-requisite:FAC1502
FAC2601 - Financial Accounting for Companies Pre-requisite: FAC1601, CAS1501 & CBC1501
Recommendation:TAX2601, FAC2602
FAC2602 - Selected Accounting Standards and Simple Group Structures Pre-requisite:FAC1601, CAS1501 & CBC1501
Recommendation:TAX2601, FAC2601
MAC2601 - Principles of Management Accounting Pre-requisite:FAC1601 & (either BNU1501 or QMI1500 or DSC1630), CAS1501, CBC1501
Recommendation:IOP1501, ECS1601, MAC2602
MAC2602 - Principles of Strategy, Risk & Financial Management Techniques Pre-requisite:FAC1601 & (either BNU1501 or QMI1500 or DSC1630) CAS1501, CBC1501
Recommendation:IOP1501, ECS1601, MAC2601
TAX2601 - Principles of Taxation Pre-requisite:FAC1601 CAS1501, CBC1501 & CLA1503 (Applicable only to 98302)
Recommendation:FAC2601, FAC2602
Group B. Select any 4 modules but not both AUE2601 and AUI2601
AIN2601 - Practical Accounting Data Processing Pre-requisite:FAC1601 & (either AIN1501 or INF1505)
Recommendation:AUE2601 & AUE2602
AUE1601 - Legal Aspects in Accountancy Recommendation:CLA1501 or CLA1503
AUE2601 - Auditing Theory and Practice Pre-requisite:AUE1601 and FAC1601, CAS1501, CBC1501 & CLA1503
Recommendation:AIN2601, AUE2602
AUE2602 - Corporate Governance in Accountancy Pre-requisite:FAC1601, CAS1501, CBC1501 & CLA1503
Recommendation:AIN2601, AUE2601
AUI2601 - Internal Auditing: Theory and Principles Pre-requisite:FAC1502
DSC1630 - Introductory Financial Mathematics
IOP1501 - Psychological Processes in Work Context
MNG2601 - General Management